Hollow
by link no miko
Summary: It's strange, Ino thinks almost sadly, that of them all, she'd be the one to find him first. [oneshot]


**Hollow**

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Written for UE. She requested Sasuke x Ino, post time-jump, and I tried my hand at it (as did, for those who think this might sound familiar, Kilerkki. Psst, go read her response!). I've never written Sasuke before, let alone Sasuke romance, so this was a learning experience.

As always, comments and criticisms are appreciated.

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It's strange, she thinks almost sadly, that of them all, she'd be the one to find him first. Before Sakura, before Naruto, before anyone who really, truly had more of a right to find him than she did.

He sits alone on a rock, staring out at nothing, and she's sure he knows she's there, hiding in the trees. The rest of her team is scattered, although still within calling distance should she need them.

She thinks she'll be fine on her own.

As quiet as a kunoichi can be, she makes her way out of the cover of trees and into the little open area around him. He doesn't make any move to acknowledge her presence, but then she never expected him to. Years have passed and many things have changed, but that never has and never will.

He's still as beautiful to her as he was then, black hair shining brightly in the bands of sunlight that make their way through the trees. She's sure if she could see his face, his eyes would be just as alluringly empty as when they were twelve. It was the mystery surrounding him she'd always loved, and she'd always wanted to be the one to break his defenses and show him the love he never seemed to care for.

But they are no longer twelve, and she knows he's no longer the mysteriously beautiful boy she used to pine after. He's an enemy of Konoha, she knows he's her enemy now, but as she steps out from the cover of the trees she knows she can't see him that way. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Heya, Sasuke," she says in what she hopes is a casual voice. She never stops to wonder if he even remembers what she sounded like. If he even remembers her.

"Ino." The word is soft, and cold, and he says her name as though he's talking to something dead.

"You know why I'm here, right?"

He doesn't move from his spot, doesn't even shift to look at her out of the corner of his eyes. She can just see the curse seal on his neck, barely showing between his hair and the high collar of his coat. The Uchiha symbol shines dully, old and tattered on his back.

She takes another step closer to him, another step farther from safety. She imagines she can hear her teammates calling for her but knows she's only imagining it. Still Sasuke does not move.

There are so many things she's wanted to say, so much she always imagined herself telling him. Back after he'd first left, she'd thought if only she had been there to stop him she'd have succeeded where Sakura failed. Her affirmations of love would always be stronger than Sakura's, surely. And when she was twelve and lay awake at night and imagined herself finding him, she would confess her undying love and he would realize how foolish he was to leave Konoha, and she'd fall into his arms in a loving embrace he'd gratefully return.

And she's older now, and seeing him there on the rock she knows such childish fantasies never could have been. But a small part of her wishes they could be, wishes things could be simple and romantic and easy. Wishes they were still twelve and innocent, and that the boy she thought she would always love wasn't her village's enemy. Wishes he would stop being such an asshole and just _look at her please_.

The first thing a kunoichi learns is that wishes will never come true.

Steeling herself, one hand on her kunai pouch and the other ready with a couple of shuriken, Ino stands tall, head high, and stares at the back of Uchiha Sasuke's head, beyond that beautiful black hair she's always wanted to run her fingers through. Her voice is cold, like his, and she wonders where the calm, soothing voice of her daydreams has gone to.

"Uchiha Sasuke, missing-nin, by order of the Godaime Hokage you are to be captured on sight." He still refuses to move, and she bristles at the way he can so easily ignore her even now, years later, after she's worked so hard and so long for everything. After he ran away to subjugate himself for power, and she trained day and night, through illness and broken bones and heartbreak to earn—_earn_—the strength she has now.

She wants to throw something at him, but knows that won't do anything but show her childishness to the one person she never wanted to be childish about.

So instead she lets down the defenses she's kept over her heart, over the one question she's never been able to answer but never allowed herself to voice aloud.

"_Why_? Didn't you even care?"

He turns his head, just slightly, and her breath hitches. She still can't see his face, can't see those eyes she could never read but wants to—_needs_ to—see now.

"Do you mean about Konoha," he asks, and his voice is husky and dark, deeper than she remembered and entirely overwhelming. "Or about you?"

The urge to throw something is stronger than ever, and she just sees the kunai sail past his head, taking a few strands of hair with it before she realizes what she's done. Sasuke's head tilts ever so slightly to the side, just enough to show her the smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. She wonders why she ever thought that look was so amazing.

But Ino is nothing if not resourceful, and so she cocks her head to the side and erases the look of shock as she plants her hands on her hips. She can't let him get to her, can't let herself lose to him. It was bad enough that Sakura was the last to see him, that he actually spoke to her before he left. She will not lose the chance she has now.

"What do you think I mean?"

The smirk never leaves his face, and she is well aware he has made his own choice as to who and what she meant. "Never."

The answer hits her hard and she can't keep the hurt from showing. But she fights it down, pushes it away. She is a kunoichi of Konoha and she has pride in herself. What one man thinks—what _this man_ thinks—does not define her, does not change who she is.

"I see." She curses the fact her voice is soft, hurt. She curses the fact that after all these years, he still has so much power over her.

He turns now so she can see his face, pale skin surrounded by black hair. Dark, slitted eyes, like those of a snake. And a grin that never graced his face when she knew him as Sasuke.

She didn't think it possible, not again, but her heart is breaking.

He's quicker than ever, and it's all she can do to keep him at bay. But she knows she's outmatched, knows she's outclassed, and the knowledge shatters her. Because as cold as Sasuke was, as distant and aloof as he made himself out to be, he was not evil, and he did not hate her. Did not want her death. She knows that to him she was just another ninja, just someone to work with.

The man fighting her now is not Sasuke, and she knows she will never, ever see him again. And all Ino can think, as she fights for her life, the sounds of her teammates crashing through the trees as they come to help her, is that she lost.

She wasn't the last to see Uchiha Sasuke, and she can never be the first to find him.

No one can find what's not there.


End file.
